Intelo.ai Closes $2 Million Financing Led by Illuminate Ventures to Transform Retail with Collaborative Intelligence

NEW YORK, Oct. 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Intelo.ai, the company building the future of retail through its Collaborative Intelligence platform, today announced the closing of a $2 million financing round. The round was led by Illuminate Ventures, a premier venture capital firm focused on B2B enterprise software.

This capital infusion will accelerate the development and deployment of Intelo.ai's innovative platform for merchandising and planning. The company is pioneering the use of specialized AI agents that work alongside retail teams, augmenting their skills to dramatically improve forecasting, assortment planning, and inventory management. This funding will be used to expand the product and engineering teams and accelerate the company's go-to-market strategy as it builds towards the future of retail.

"Intelo was born from a deep respect for the art and science of retail. I've seen firsthand how pivotal merchants, planners, and buyers are, and our passion is to build the technology they truly deserve. Our vision for Agentic AI is to elevate these roles, transforming them from data analysts into strategic visionaries. We're giving every retail leader a powerful AI partner to handle the 'how,' so they can reclaim their time to focus on the 'what'," said Roopesh Nair, Co-CEO of Intelo.ai

"Retail merchandising and planning have been underserved by true innovation for too long. We are grateful for the confidence that Illuminate Ventures and our investors have placed in us to change that," said Jeff Fish, Co-CEO of Intelo.ai. "This partnership validates our vision for a future where human expertise is amplified by powerful AI agents, working in concert to make smarter, faster, and more profitable decisions. This funding allows us to accelerate our mission to move Intelo.ai forward and deliver a new era of collaborative intelligence to the retail industry."

Illuminate Ventures, known for backing transformative enterprise technologies, recognized the significant market opportunity and the unique approach Intelo.ai is taking to solve longstanding challenges in retail.

"Intelo represents exactly the kind of further along company Illuminate looks for; experienced founders with deep domain expertise, solving a problem that offers near instant ROI," said Cindy Padnos, Managing Partner of Illuminate Ventures. "Their deep expertise in both retail and technology gives them a unique insight into the industry's pain points. The concept of AI agents that collaborate with planners and merchandisers is a game-changer. Intelo.ai is not just building another analytics tool; they are creating a true system of intelligence that will transform core retail operations. We are thrilled to partner with them to help build a category-defining company."

Intelo.ai's platform moves beyond static dashboards and traditional analytics by introducing AI agents that can reason, recommend, and automate complex workflows. This "Collaborative Intelligence" approach empowers retail teams to navigate volatile market trends, reduce waste, and optimize margins with unprecedented agility and precision.

About Intelo.ai

Intelo.ai is building the future of retail with its Collaborative Intelligence platform for Merchandising & Planning. The company's innovative AI agents work alongside human teams, augmenting their capabilities to master the complexity of modern retail. By unifying data and empowering collaboration between humans and AI, Intelo.ai helps retailers optimize assortments, improve forecasts, and drive profitable growth.

About Illuminate Ventures

With offices in Oakland, CA, and Seattle, WA, Illuminate Ventures (www.illuminate.com) invests at the Seed stage across the trillion-dollar B2B AI software market. Since 2010, the firm has led early investments in market leaders such as Xactly, BrightEdge, Contentstack, and Arkestro, gaining two IPOs and nearly a dozen M&A exits. Illuminate backs "further-along" founders who combine deep domain expertise with early market traction. Led by experienced operators and investors, the firm is often the first institutional partner—providing capital, networks, and hands-on expertise to help founders accelerate growth and build category-defining companies.

Media Contact:

Intelo Labs, LLC
[email protected]
intelo.ai 

SOURCE Intelo.ai